South Whitehall man honored by game commission

Gary R. Blockus, THE MORNING CALL

Franklin Hoffman (right) of South Whitehall, receives his award as Hunter Trapper Education Instructor of the Year for the Pennsylvania Game Commision's Southeast Region from Wildlife Conservation Officer Kevin Halbfoerster at Unami FIsh and Game in Emmaus.

Franklin Hoffman (right) of South Whitehall, receives his award as Hunter Trapper Education Instructor of the Year for the Pennsylvania Game Commision's Southeast Region from Wildlife Conservation Officer Kevin Halbfoerster at Unami FIsh and Game in Emmaus. (Gary R. Blockus, THE MORNING CALL)

Find out how the game commission's southeast region honored Franklin Hoffman.

For more than 35 years, Franklin Hoffman of South Whitehall Township has been teaching the Pennsylvania Game Commission's Hunter Safety Education course. And while he's seen literally thousands of children and adults pass the course and go on to become eligible for a state hunting license, he always remembers the reason he first volunteered to be a Hunter Trapper Education instructor.

"Years ago when I first started, there were a lot of hunting accidents," he said during the Lehigh County Refresher Training Conference Saturday at Unami Fish and Game Protective Association in Upper Milford Township. "The guys I started with wanted to do something to reduce the number of those accidents, so we went to Ranger Lake Rod & Gun Club, and from there we went to other clubs."

Hoffman and more than 40 other instructors were receiving updates and record-keeping tips from Wildlife Conservation Officer Kevin Halbfoerster and other WCOs and deputies attending. They were also receiving some awards for years of service for a variety of topics, including HTE, bowhunting and trapping.

Hoffman received a big award, however. In addition to being named outstanding instructor for District 6-39-1, the northern districts of Lehigh County that Halbfoerster covers, Hoffman also received the Outstanding Instructor award of 2014 for the entire Southeast Region of the Pennsylvania Game Commission.

Steve Wentzel, a well-known trapping expert, received the OI for District 6-39-1, which includes southern Lehigh County. He received the award from WCO Shawna Burkett, who had been in charge of that district but is now in charge of the district in upper Bucks County.

Halbfoerster gave a presentation to the instructors that included an analysis showing more classes and more participation in the hunter/trapper safety training, which those 12 and older must have in order to buy a hunting or trapping license.

In Halbfoerster's district, classes increased from 10 to 13 from 2012 to 2014, with the total students increasing from 358 to 403. And in Burkett's former district, the number of classes doubled from five to 10, while students more than doubled from 189 to 412.

More instructors are needed to keep up with the demand. Anyone wishing to become a Hunter Trapping Education instructor can call the PGC Southeast Regional office at 610-926-3136 to request an application.

Halbfoerster also relayed survey information from the PGC that showed that even if the students who passed the course don't end up buying their first license in the year they pass the course, they end up buying it within four years.

New online course for hunter/trapper ed: Hunter Trapper Education courses are free to attend, and while the number of classes and students continues to grow, the PGC is offering a new option for those 16 years and over who find themselves hard-pressed to devote the necessary amount of time for the course in its current one- and two-day formats.

A new online-only course is available for a fee of $19.50 for those 16 and over. The course features 11 units that must be completed, along with a unit test, before passing on to the next section. That ensures the students are spending enough time learning about each unit, some of which regard firearms safety, tree-stand safety, state game lands regulations, Lyme disease prevention and more. In addition, a test must be passed at the end. Following the successful passing of the test, a temporary certificate can be printed and a hunting/trapping license purchased.

The online course is available on Kalkomey's website, http://www.hunter-ed.com.

Kalkomey is a Texas-based company specializing in hunter education and has been partnering with the PGC for years. Kalkomey retains the entire fee.

Lehigh Valley Sportsman Show coming: The 2015 Lehigh Valley Sportsman Show will be held March 6-8 in the 60,000-square-foot Agri-Plex of the Allentown Fairgrounds.

Admission is $10, with kids ages 12 and under admitted free of charge when accompanied by a paying adult.

Hours are 1-7 p.m March 6; 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. March 7; and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. March 8.

For information on the Lehigh Valley Sportsman Show, call PBM Productions at 610-395-5280 or go to the website at http://www.lehighvalleysportsmanshow.com.

Check out next week's Outdoors article for more information on the show.